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Protest against free trade with China
7-Mar-2005 Scoop
Many New Zealanders are very concerned about free trade with China for various reasons.
Guatemala postpones ratification of FTA with US
6-Mar-2005 Angola Press
The Guatemalan Congress on Wednesday postponed for at least one week the ratification of the country`s free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, following massive protests Tuesday by thousands of demonstrators.
US sets conditions for normal trade ties with Pakistan
6-Mar-2005 Business Recorder
The United States has conveyed to Pakistan that trade relations could not be normalised prior to crackdown on the violators of Intellectual Property Rights and withdrawal of case against a US-based company, Slemens-Westinghouse.
All alone
5-Mar-2005 Cairo Magazine
The 14 February assassination of Al Hariri may strip away the last of Syria’s European patrons, leaving it at the mercy of Bush’s agenda in the region. There is talk that EU parliamentary approvals of Syria’s association agreement are now on hold.
Crashing the third party
3-Mar-2005 O’Dwyer’s PR Daily
What do the Council on Foreign Relations, American Enterprise Institute, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Brookings Institution, and the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies have in common?
Central Bank discusses US FTA negotiation strategy - UAE
3-Mar-2005
Though the negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the UAE and the United States will take place from March 8, the banking and financial sectors has told the Central Bank of the UAE about its desire for more liberalisation.
Thousands of Guatemalans protest against ratification of FTA with US
3-Mar-2005
Thousands of public-school teachers, peasants, university students and workers rallied in Guatemala City Tuesday against the imminent approval of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
COMESA demands changes to current intellectual property system
3-Mar-2005 Xinhua
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) said it wants changes to the current intellectual property right system to protect the interests of developing countries. It will accordingly conduct an audit and formulate a negotiating position for COMESA member countries in their negotiations with the European Union for the Economic Partnership Agreements due to start in December 2005.
Bahrain-Germany to sign BIT
3-Mar-2005 Gulf Daily news
An agreement on the protection and promotion of investments between Bahrain and Germany is due to be signed "very soon". Germany is also pushing for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and the GCC.
Egypt: FTA controversy
3-Mar-2005 Zawya
Egypt and the US held the most high-level bilateral trade meeting since 2002 last week - a sign that the eventual opening of formal negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could be in the works. However, officials on both sides were vague as to when that might be, saying that there were still important issues to be resolved before proceeding to the next stage of trade negotiations.
Honduras ratifies CAFTA
3-Mar-2005 Forbes
Honduras on Thursday became the second Latin American country after El Salvador to ratify a free trade agreement with the United States. Lawmakers immediately fled Congress following their decision, however, to avoid 1,000 government employees who were protesting the measure outside.
Bush administration submits annual trade report to Congress
2-Mar-2005 USTR
The Bush Administration today submitted to Congress the 2005 Trade Policy Agenda and the 2004 Annual Report of the President on the Trade Agreements Program.
Clash continues on US-Central America trade deal
2-Mar-2005 IP Watch
Protection of pharmaceutical patents may not be the biggest reason the Bush administration is struggling to line up congressional votes for a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, but it remains critical to its passage.
BIT Treaty with US: Pakistan opposes inclusion of IPR
2-Mar-2005 Daily Times
Pakistan has refused to accept the inclusion of the Intellectual Property Rights issue in the proposed draft for a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between the US and Pakistan, a senior government official told Daily Times.
An FTA with the US, what are we really in for?
1-Mar-2005
Regional and bilateral trade agreements have been around since the 1950’s. In the last decade however, there has been an increasing spurt of trade pacts being signed all over the world that pose challenges to the multilateral trading system.
The Andean Free Trade Agreement Behind Plan Colombia
1-Mar-2005
Although Colombia is the third largest recipient of U.S. financial aid after Iraq and Israel, it still remains a mystery nation to the majority of taxpayers.
Caribbean and Mercosur discuss free trade agreement
1-Mar-2005 AP
Caricom and Mercosur officials held talks Friday about establishing a free trade agreement by the end of the year.
An international political economy view of EU-GCC partnership
1-Mar-2005 UNED
After several years of being blocked, the signing of the EU-GCC FTA seems imminent. At the same time, the US is launching an ambitious proposal for a US-Middle East Free Trade Area in 2013, with Bahrain being the last country to adhere to a list that already includes Morocco and Jordan.
US restarts Egypt trade talks
28-Feb-2005 Washington Times
The Bush administration in its second term is continuing its drive for closer economic ties with the Middle East, restarting trade-related talks with Egypt this week and formally opening free-trade agreement negotiations with Oman and the United Arab Emirates next month.
Pakistan, China to sign trade agreement in April
28-Feb-2005 Hi Pakistan
Pakistan and China want finalisation of an early harvest programme to finally sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.